It Started During A War
by Awendela
Summary: How Hermione and Snape came together over the years. Their story is more about the journey than the destination. A snapshot series of defining moments in their lives.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or make any profit from it. Everything belongs to JKR.

A/N: There's a little plot bunny that would not leave me alone. Severus/Hermione as most of my stories are. Let me know what you think!

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It Started During A War

The First Time: Forest of Dean

The first time it happened it was by complete accident. She never expected to literally run into him in the middle of a pitch black forest. The first time it was her fault. It had been exactly three days since Ron's miraculous return to their camp and Hermione could not stand the sight of him. What did Ron think, that she would just let him in again like nothing had happened? Everything had changed in that moment when he left. Ron wasn't the only one suffering through this war. How could he be so selfish? She knew Harry was only pretending to be alright with everything and Ron did save him from drowning after all. Only a boy would have gone after a sword in the middle of a freezing lake. How did the sword even get to the bottom of the lake anyways? Surely, her or Harry would have noticed it before. They had used that lake several times over the last few days for drinking water, cooking, and bathing. She briefly wondered if Harry was getting ill, saying his mother led him to the sword. Impossible. Most likely he had imagined the doe patronus he saw that night. They were both starving and severely lacking sleep, that combination did crazy things and made people see things that were not there.

Hermione had volunteered to cover Harry's night watch shift tonight. Sure, it meant pulling two watches in a row but she could handle it. It wasn't the first nor the last time it would happen. Mostly, she wanted to be as far away from Ronald as possible, but she was also concerned about Harry, he needed a break. A few less hours of sleep really didn't matter that much to her.

It's not like there was much to watch anyways. They had moved camp two days ago and had not seen a sign of life yet. The whole forest seemed devoid of life. It was rather intense, but she would take a still forest over the chaos that now reigned in the cities any day. It wasn't long before she felt herself begin to tire so she decided to walk along the perimeter of their camp. It was a habit she had picked up not long after the start of their journey. The repetitive steps helped to clear her head and the physical act of watching fought of exhaustion. It was nearing midnight so the forest was completely cloaked in darkness. On the first pass of the perimeter Hermione didn't see anything out of the ordinary, just the vast emptiness of the forest. It was on the second pass that something strange caught her eye.

In the distance she could see a light blue, ethereal figure. Unfortunately, it was too far away from her to properly identify it. This alone should have caused her to pause and proceed with caution, but she did not. The figure was standing still as a statue and it appeared to be staring in her direction. Hermione figured it to be about ten meters away from the edge of her wards. Was it worth it to go investigate? She would be completely alone once she broke through the wards. It was an utterly reckless idea.

Well it was about time Hermione was allowed to be the reckless one. Before she could allow her logical mind to stop her, she stepped out of the protection of the wards. Hermione knew neither of the boys would notice the slight shift in the wards indicating that she had left. She was on her own. Surprisingly, the blue figure seemed to notice her transgression. It took a few cautious steps towards her as she approached. Hermione stopped when she was close enough to see the figure clearly, but not close enough for it to attack her. It was a doe, just like Harry had said! Except instead of looking like a ghost, it looked like a patronus. But who had a doe patronus that would be out looking for them in the middle of the forest? Hermione could think of no one who fit that description.

When the doe did not move again, Hermione decided it was time to head back to the camp immediately. Even if the person who cast the patronus was not a foe it didn't exactly mean they were friendly either. It was better to get back to the safety of the wards before the caster of the doe found her. She spun around to head back to camp when she ran directly into a large black object. Hermione bounced back and instinctively drew her wand. She followed the long, dark robes up to the murderous looking face of Severus Snape. She had just pulled her wand on Dumbledore's killer and now she was alone with him in the woods.

"What are you doing stupid girl?" He spat out quickly as he grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her near him. He then proceeded to nearly drag her at an insane pace back through the forest to their camp. How he knew the location, she didn't even want to know. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one, clearly I was mistaken." He snarled at her.

Hermione attempted to answer him only to be interrupted by a loud "Silence!" from the former potions master. She was so confused at the moment she didn't even attempt to question him again.

When they reached the wards around the camp Snape physically shoved her past them. Once on the other side she just turned and stared at him. He hadn't even tried to cross her wards. Instead, he simply started to turn away from her and walk back into the forest without so much as a word.

Hermione was so baffled she couldn't help herself. "That's it then?" She yelled out at him. "That's all you're going to do?" She instantly regretted the words that had come out of her mouth.

Snape stopped walking but didn't turn around, almost as if he was having an internal battle with himself. "What is it that you expect me to do Miss Granger?" He asked venomously. When she didn't reply immediately, he continued. "To storm your camp, somehow manage to capture all three of you, take you to the Dark Lord by myself? All while I was supposed to be back at Hogwarts, preventing you three from entering it, torturing students, and not know any information about your location at all?" He paused to calm himself and gauge her startled expression. "Yes, now you see how that would not do me any good."

"But you gave Harry the sword! He saw your patronus." She blurted out, recalling how Harry had mentioned the doe patronus. It all made sense now. He thought it had been his mother, but clearly he had been very wrong in that assumption. "Are you on our side? How is that possible?" She asked all at once.

Snape's face remained emotionless but to Hermione it looked like he wanted to say so much more. "We all have our parts to play in this war Miss Granger. It's time you remember that." He said simply before disapparating away.

Hermione stood there like a statue, too stunned to move. What had just happened? Snape hadn't harmed her, in fact it was almost like he was protecting her. Forcing her back behind the wards had been his way of doing that. But why? Why would he care at all about her fate? There was no way he could be on their side of the war, could he? Was he still loyal to the Order? If he was, why hadn't he said more? Why was he here, in the forest with them at all? Her incessant questions were cut off when Harry and Ron came running noisily up to her side.

"Hermione, are you alright? What just happened? It sounded like someone disapparated just now." Harry said, scanning the darkness for something that was no longer there.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I'm fire. It was just the wind." She lied. They could never know who had actually visited her. "Come on, let's get back to the tent. We need to start researching the next horocrux, we need to end this war." This was her part in the war and like Snape said, it was time to end it.

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A/N: Hope you liked the first part of this collection. Let me know what you think so far!

~A


	2. Chapter 2

It Started During A War

The Second Time: Battle of Hogwarts

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Hermione could barely keep up with everything going on around her. The battle of Hogwarts had been raging for hours now. Everyone was physically and emotionally spent but they kept on fighting. Darkness and dust rose around the remaining fighters, making it nearly impossible to see who you were actually fighting; shots of colored light flew in every direction. She wouldn't be surprised if people were taken out by their own side. Soon, screams filled the air all around them, allies or enemies they couldn't tell. She, along with Harry and Ron, needed to press on. Their mission was to find Voldemort inside the Shrieking Shack, they had no time to be distracted by all the terror around them. The tunnel under the Whomping Willow had never seemed as long as it did now. Every minute they wasted meant that another ally and friend could die.

When the trio finally reached the end of the tunnel, they started for the creaking stairs of the Shack. It soon became apparent that something was wrong, Lord Voldemort was not alone. Their whole plan had counted on him being alone, but instead Professor Snape was with him in the decrepit, old room and from the tone of the conversation they were having it did not seem to be going so well for the professor. Hermione held back a gasp. Could Voldemort have figured out that Snape was really an Order member? Well, ex-Order member. He killed Dumbledore after all. She couldn't even begin to think what fate Voldemort would have planned for a spy among his most trusted followers.

From underneath the protection of Harry's invisibility cloak the trio watched the scene unfold in front of their eyes. They could clearly hear Snape nearly begging Voldemort to go and search for Harry, telling him how Harry would never come willingly and that only he could be trusted with this task. Hermione lost count of the number of times he had asked. It was terrible. Snape had clearly foreseen the outcome of this meeting would end tragically for him and now he was trapped. Suddenly, the topic of Voldemort's conversation switched. He started to talk about the Elder Wand. He believed Snape was the master of it, impossible, that couldn't be right, could it? That idea didn't follow what Harry had told them about that night in the astronomy tower. However, Voldemort didn't seem to care about the more particular details of that night and in a split second Nagini and the protective sphere she was contained in were moved across the room to where Snape. Immediately she began attacking him viciously, her sharp fangs digging into the tender flesh of his throat time and time again. Hermione turned away from the horrific scene, she refused to watch another person die.

After what felt like hours, even if it had only truly been a few minutes, the attack on Snape finally ended. Voldemort didn't even glance back at Snape's prone form as he left, Nagini following obediently behind him. The trio waited under Harry's invisibility cloak to make sure he would not simply turn around and come back into the decrepit room. Harry flung off the cloak and was the first one to reach Snape, grasping the older man's hand as he knelt beside him. Hermione found herself on Snape's other side and instantly began assessing the neck on his wound. She barely even noticed the memories Snape was giving to Harry. That was a moment between them. Hermione focused on his wounds, She was determined that he was not going to die here on the floor of the Shack.

Hermione immediately started to dig through her beaded bag, pulling out whichever potions she could get her hands on. After traveling through the Forest of Dean all year they didn't exactly have many left. She would probably just end up wasting them on him, but she could not just sit by a watch a man die. Three bottles of blood-replenishing potion, a calming draught, and a bottle of dittany did little to slow the blood coming from Snape's neck. Hermione worried her worst fear was coming true, no matter what she did, he would still die. She waited a few more moments, hoping to see some glimmer of life in her old professor, but when nothing seemed to be happening Hermione slowly got up and turned away with tears streaming down her face. They had failed again.

With a defeated attitude the trio turned to leave the Shrieking Shack. What more could they do here and there was still so much they were required to do before they could finish the battle once and for all. There would be time to grieve for all those that had been lost later, after they had won. Hermione couldn't help but linger just a moment longer than the boys, convinced that Snape wouldn't end like this, it wasn't like him. She knew that the professor would pull through. Her eyes scanned over his body once more and she saw his left hand twitch. Thinking she was imagining things, she scanned over his body once more and again his left hand moved. She nearly screamed out in relief. She immediately rushed back to his side, trying to determine how she could help him.

Harry and Ron hesitated for a moment before turning back to assist her. "Go!" She ordered them. "I'll be right behind you. We cannot waste anymore time. Go!" Hermione urged them and for once they listened to her without a fight. She started to search through her beaded bag for potions again but came up empty. She had nothing left that could help him, it was a terrible situation to be in. It was then that Hermione noticed his left hand was twitching again, but instead of just a random series of movements, it seemed as if Snape was trying to reach for a pocket in his robes. Hermione quickly felt around in his robes, and pulled out the potions bottles that were hidden deep in his pocket; two bottles of antivenom and a bottle that she could not identify. She didn't have time to analyze the mystery bottle and assumed Snape would only have it for a reason. She quickly administered all three bottles, making sure he swallowed all three down. A second after he drank them he let out a large sigh and drifted off into unconsciousness once again.

Hermione's heart jumped to her throat, thinking he had just died right in front of her. She checked the mostly undamaged side of his throat and was relieved to feel a pulse. Since Snape was now in a relatively stable condition she had to figure out what to do next. They couldn't just lie on the dusty, decrepit floor of the Shrieking Shack forever while the battle went on around them. Hermione knew St. Mungo's was off limits, the healers there would probably just leave him to die. Grimmauld Place was not an option either. It would soon be swarming with Order members and Snape was public enemy number two at the moment. Her only option was the hospital wing inside the castle. Hermione felt dread curl up inside her. This option did not seem better than any of the others. What would McGonagall or Madam Pomfrey say when they saw her walk in with him? It didn't matter. She could handle them, she would save him, and she was probably the only one who would.

Hermione performed a quick mobilicorpus and a disillusionment spell on Snape's body and she made her way out of the Shrieking Shack with Professor Snape's body trailing behind her. As quick and cunningly as she could she made her way out of the hidden tunnel, when the pair arrived at the Whomping Willow it appeared as if the battle was over. There were witches and wizards still walking around but not a single spell or curse could be heard. How could that possibly be? Where were Harry and Ron? With Snape's body still following behind her, she set off across the grounds towards the castle. Thankfully the few people she passed didn't so much as glance her way. She needed to reach the hospital wing as quickly as possible. She knew from before that most of the dead or injured were being brought to the Great Hall, the number long ago exceeding the space of the hospital wing. She hoped that by avoiding that area her presence would not be detected. As she passed, Hermione didn't dare look into the Great Hall, fearing what she would see.

When Hermione finally reached her destination she was relieved to find it empty. Apparently everyone had been moved down to the Great Hall. Hermione quickly laid Snape down on one of the empty beds and removed the disillusionment spell. Checking once more to make sure he was still breathing, she went off to find bandages and whatever potions she could get her hands on. Easily taking down the wards on the supply closet, she gathered everything she could, probably not needing all of it but she had never tried to heal someone as badly wounded as Snape. Hermione was so focused on her task that she didn't even notice when another person entered the hospital wing until she turned around to rush back to Snape's bed.

Hermione nearly dropped all the supplies she had just gathered to the ground. Madam Pomfrey, of all people, was standing at the end of Snape's bed, simply staring at him. "Madam Pomfrey, I can explain!" she exclaimed as she quickly made her way over to the occupied bed. This was her worst case scenario coming true. Hermione opened her mouth to continue defending herself and her idea to bring Snape here, but the matron interrupted her.

"Miss Granger, I have been taking care of Severus since he first walked into the Great Hall for his sorting ceremony. I was one of the very first to know when he became Dumbledore's spy, and on one particularly bad night near the end, he told me of a horrible task our esteemed Headmaster had given him. Now I did not believe it at first, pain can do things to a person's mind, but in light of recent events I may be forced to believe him. I am glad that you managed to bring him here alive. Now, hurry child and pass me those supplies. Dear Severus is not out of the woods yet." The matron stated calmly and quickly set about her task.

Hermione was too stunned to do anything other than follow Madam Pomfrey's orders. What task was she talking about? How could she help him so easily? Maybe she had misjudged the hospital matron all these years. Cleary there was more to Snape than anyone would ever know.

It all came back to that night they had met in the Forest of Dean. Snape had told her that everyone had a part to play in this war and that she needed to focus on hers. What was his part? She thought his part had simply been that of a spy, but was there more? What had Dumbledore asked him to do that was so terrible? Maybe she would never know, but some nagging feeling told her she already knew.

Slowly she backed away from his bedside. There was not much more she, an inexperienced healer, could possibly do. Snape was in good hands now. She was sure Madam Pomfrey would not let any harm come to him and she desperately needed to get back to Ron and Harry.

Madam Pomfrey noticed her slowly retreating away from the bed. "Go on dear!" She urged. "I will look after him. I'm sure Misters Potter and Weasley need your help more right now."

Hermione nodded, her eyes still lingering on the professor. "Please Madam Pomfrey, don't tell him it was me that brought him here. I would hate for him to believe he was in my debt. If what you say is true, he already has too many burdens to bear and I simply could not watch another person die. That is all" She said quickly and took off running towards the Great Hall.

She needed to find Harry and Ron and end the battle.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope to have the third installment up soon!

~A


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